Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accepted invitations to the summits of the seven major industrial nations (G-7) and NATO. Zelenskyy announced this via Twitter today. The G-7 summit will meet in Bavaria at the end of June, followed immediately by NATO in Madrid.
Gratefully accepted the partners’ invitation to participate in the main international events: from 🇩🇪 Federal Chancellor @Chancellor – at the #G7ENG Summit, by the Secretary General of NATO @jensstoltenberg – at the #NATO Summit In Madrid.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 15, 2022
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) invited him to the G-7 meeting. The invitation to join NATO came from Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Zelenskyy did not say whether he would travel to the summit in person or be connected via video link to other conferences. “He is welcome to come in person. If that’s not possible for him, he will talk to us via video conference,” says Stoltenberg.
NATO deliberations ahead of the Madrid summit
Defense ministers from the 30 NATO countries are already meeting today to clarify outstanding issues related to the Madrid summit. At this meeting, the heads of state and government will decide how the alliance will react to threats from Russia’s war policy in the medium and long term. In addition, it is envisaged, among other things, to reach agreement on an increase in Community expenditure.
The defense ministers’ talks will also focus on strengthening the eastern flank with additional NATO troops. The Baltic states, in particular, are pushing for significantly greater support from allies after the Russian attack on Ukraine. The Brussels talks are being overshadowed by the persistent refusal of Alliance member Turkey to agree to the start of NATO membership talks with Finland and Sweden.